"This little brat! He's actually sacrificing a summoned beast to absorb the poison gas!"
The dense purple poison gas, like liquid poured into a pool, was quickly absorbed by the three-headed hellhound. A moment later, it collapsed to the ground, on the verge of death, and with a "poof," turned into white smoke and disappeared before everyone's eyes.
Hanzō of the Salamander no longer possessed the composure he had before the battle began; he now regarded the two brats opposite him as opponents of equal standing.
"Those two pairs of eyes."
Danzō, who had been observing from the sidelines without joining the fight, along with two Root captains, concealed their figures like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, waiting for a flaw to appear in either side to deliver a lightning strike.
The evenly matched situation, unthinkable before the battle, had now shifted to where the "Demigod" Hanzō of the Salamander was at a disadvantage. The change had occurred with breathtaking speed.
"Are these two brats too strong, or has Hanzō of the Salamander become weaker?"
The Anbu captain's gaze struggled to keep up with the pace of the fighters below, but the level of combat far exceeded his own. Devoid of emotion, he could only give an ambiguous answer.
"Perhaps both. The possibility of Hanzō having weakened is greater, Lord Danzō."
Slowly undoing the restraints on his right eye, the eye behind the bandages was revealed – a crimson eye, identical to that of the young man currently fighting below. It was the Uchiha clan's Sharingan.
Danzō, who had initially only wanted to stop the peace talks and eliminate the Akatsuki organization, now had an even bolder plan in mind: to rid Konoha of a dangerous neighboring country and eliminate this Demigod who had loomed over the ninja world for a decade.
"What are the chances of us succeeding if we cooperate with those two brats to kill Hanzō of the Salamander?"
"Lord Danzō, we can't! Hanzō has been famous for years; his trump cards are definitely not limited to these two obvious ones. If we act rashly now..."
"I asked you, what are the chances?"
"This..."
"Ten out of ten."
Answering his own question, Danzō shed his disguise and, with a ninja's swiftness, dashed towards the summoned beast, the Salamander.
"With those two brats pinning Hanzō down, the probability of me killing the Salamander is one hundred percent. As long as this summoned beast is lost, the remaining poison gas is no threat."
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
"Wind Release: Great Vacuum Sphere!"
"Wind Release: Vacuum Shuriken!"
While running, his lungs expanded at a speed impossible for humans, releasing three advanced Wind Release ninjutsu in one breath.
The Vacuum Wave dispersed the Salamander's poison gas, the Great Vacuum Sphere shattered the Salamander's mucous membrane, and the Vacuum Shuriken pierced the Salamander's thick skin.
"Eeeeeee-------"
A tragic cry like that of a wailing infant sounded from the Salamander's mouth. The shuriken embedded in the Salamander's body quickly turned purple, melting into a puddle of liquid that bubbled on the ground.
"Self-Cursing Seal of Binding!"
Dense curse marks leaped out from the shuriken wounds, rapidly covering and enveloping the Salamander's large, robust body. This curse mark had no other additional effects; its sole function was to seal the enemy's movements.
The Salamander was trapped. It communicated with Hanzō in a special voice. The Demigod of the ninja world, unable to fend for himself, could only pay the price of injury to escape the battlefield with Obito and Nagato Uzumaki.
"Salamander!"
Seeing Danzō about to deliver the final blow to the Salamander, Hanzō immediately released the summoning technique, but the Salamander was already heavily injured and could no longer fight.
"Danzō! Is this all the integrity a Konoha ninja has?!"
Laughing in extreme anger, Hanzō's condescending laughter was as full of killing intent as a soul-reaping ghost.
"Lord Hanzō, you've sat in your position in the Land of Rain for too long. Now, even brats from an organization like Akatsuki can push you to a disadvantage. It seems you're no longer the all-powerful Demigod. It's only right that we end your legend."
"You smooth-tongued bastard!"
Obito, who had been entrusted with the task, watched Hanzō's betrayal, his heart set. This leader of Root had also turned. Next, as long as he killed Hanzō, got his antidote, and then dealt with Danzō, he could return to Konoha at the fastest speed and even bite back at Root.
"Leader of Akatsuki, I misunderstood you before because I believed Danzō's rumors. How about we first deal with this external enemy, and then we can properly discuss the internal affairs of Amegakure?"
"To think the Demigod is also someone who trims his sails to the wind. One truly cannot judge a person by their appearance."
Ignoring Hanzō's hypocritical invitation, to agree to his request now would be foolish.
"Nagato, Obito!"
Yahiko, leading Konan, navigated through the enemy encirclement to their side. The Akatsuki members behind them had suffered heavy casualties. Both Yahiko and Konan were wounded; Yahiko's right arm bone was exposed.
"Yahiko!"
"I'm fine. It seems Amegakure and these unknown Konoha Anbu are not on the same side. Just now, they suddenly turned their blades on their comrades-in-arms from moments before and started fighting amongst themselves, buying us time to escape."
Looking at Danzō, Obito, and Nagato united against Hanzō, a rare desire to mock arose in Yahiko's heart. The Demigod who had deceived them just moments ago was now trapped in a deadly siege.
"You go evacuate the surviving comrades! Leave this to us! Akatsuki will not perish; it is about to be reborn!"
"Alright!"
Paper sheets danced wildly in the air. Konan used countless white papers to obscure the enemy's vision. Pure white, angel-like wings appeared on her back. She stepped off the cliff and flew into the sky.
"Go!"
"Follow Konan!"
The three-way chaotic battle ended in a moment. One group followed the guidance of the dancing white papers and jumped off the cliff, only to be caught by more flying papers and land safely. This was the best escape tactic they had discussed last night. The drawback was the enormous chakra consumption. After rescuing everyone, Konan panted slightly. Yahiko nodded and looked back at the decisive battle above.
"Are you ready?"
"Ready!"
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Gritting his teeth and forming seals, Yahiko used nearly half his chakra to enhance this A-rank ninjutsu. Aided by the terrain and weather, a waterfall crashed down from the mountaintop, triggering flash floods and mudslides. The destructive ninjutsu that altered the terrain made the Konoha Anbu and Amegakure ninja turn pale with fright. Even Hanzō, Nagato, Obito, and Danzō were separated by this jutsu.
Danzō, now on the other side, looked down to his right and saw Yahiko, who was casting the terrain-altering jutsu.
"You even calculated my move?"
"Although I don't know which prominent figure you are in Konoha, it's a recognized fact that the Land of Rain held a grudge against Konoha during the Second Great Ninja War. Given that, seeing an opportunity for the Demigod to fall, you wouldn't pass it up, would you?"
"After he's dead, it'll be your turn."
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